Te Wiki o Te Reo Māori | Māori Language Week  

Ready to learn te reo Māori? Whether your goal is to pronounce Māori words correctly, to introduce yourself in te reo Māori with confidence, Te Wānanga o Aotearoa offer a Te Reo language course that the at the Kōkiri Training Centre. With tuition online or in the classroom, there is a learning option to suit most lifestyles.

As a visitor to City Library you will have had the opportunity to admire James Bellany's artwork on the Plaza (see James' art statement which also features in this issue of NB). For some, the artwork is evocative of the story of Te wehenga o Rangi rāua ko Papa.

Te wehenga o Rangi rāua ko Papa | The Separation of Earth and Sky

I te tīmatanga e piri tahi ana a Ranginui rāua ko Papatūānuku, ā, pōkia ai e rāua ā rāua tamariki i te pōuri i waenganui i a rāua. Ka whakatau ngā tamariki me wehe ō rātou mātua e tiaho ai te mārama ki te ao. I muri i te wehenga ka tū ngā tamariki hei atua mō ngā wāhi katoa o te ao tūroa. Hei tauira, ko Tāne te atua o te ngahere, ko Tangaroa te atua o te moana.

In the beginning Ranginui (the sky) and Papatūānuku (the earth) were joined together, and their children were born between them in darkness. The children decided to separate their parents, to allow light to come into the world. After this, the children became gods of various parts of the natural world. For example, Tāne became the god of the forests and Tangaroa the god of the sea.

[source: Te Ara https://www.teara.govt.nz/mi/te-orokohanga-mai-o-te-ao]